The International Association of Friends of the Soviet Union was an organization formed on the initiative of the

Communist International The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to "struggle by ...

in 1927, with the purpose of coordinating solidarity efforts with the Soviet Union around the world. It grew out of existing initiatives like

Friends of Soviet Russia The Friends of Soviet Russia (FSR) was formally established in the United States on August 9, 1921 as an offshoot of the American Labor Alliance for Trade Relations with Soviet Russia (ALA). It was launched as a "mass organization" dedicated to r ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, the Association of Friends of the New Russia in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and the

Hands Off Russia The Hands Off Russia campaign was an international political initiative first launched by British Socialists in 1919 to organise opposition to the British intervention on the side of the White armies against the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War ...

campaign that had emerged during the early 1920s in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

and elsewhere.

Organizational history

Establishment

In 1927 the

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the Russian Revolution with much fanfare. Supporters of the Soviet Union flocked to Moscow to attend the official Revolution Day festivities slated for November 7. The Communist International decided to make use of this opportunity to bring together representatives of the various national "friendship societies," centralizing their activities in a single international organization to be known as the International Association of Friends of the Soviet Union.Louis Nemzer, "The Soviet Friendship Societies," ''Public Opinion Quarterly'' vol. 13, no. 2 (Summer 1949), pg. 266. An organizing committee for the new association was named, with representatives of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Communist Party of Great Britain playing a leading role. The founding congress of FSU was held at the House of the Trade Unions in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

November 10–12, 1927. 917 delegates from 40 countries assisted the conference. Leading figures in the organization were

Clara Zetkin Clara Zetkin (; ; ''née'' Eißner ; 5 July 1857 – 20 June 1933) was a German Marxist theorist, communist activist, and advocate for women's rights. Until 1917, she was active in the Social Democratic Party of Germany. She then joined the ...

and Henri Barbusse. National sections of FSU was formed in various countries.

National sections

Australia

The Australian FSU was established in 1930. In the mid-1930s there was an attempt on behalf of the Commonwealth to ban the organization. The organization was later reconstituted as the Australia-Soviet Friendship League.

Canada

The Canadian-Soviet Friendship Society was established in 1949 with Dyson Carter as president and

Dorise Nielsen Dorise Winifred Nielsen (30 July 1902 – 9 December 1980) was a Canadian communist politician, feminist and teacher. Biography Before politics Born in London, England, Doris Webber arrived in Canada and settled in Saskatchewan in 1927 to work ...

as executive secretary. Carter edited ''News-Facts About the USSR'' from 1950 to 1956 and the pro-Soviet glossy magazine ''Northern Neighbours'' from 1956 to 1989. The CSFS succeeded the National Council for Canadian Soviet Friendship, which had been founded during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

to support the USSR as a war ally. Earlier, a Canadian branch of the American based

had also existed from the mid-1920s to the late 1930s. In 1960, the CSFS became the USSR-Canada Friendship Association. It was led by Leslie Hunt and then, after 1972, Michael Lucas. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Lucus founded the Canadian Friends of Soviet People as a successor organization. Its journal, the ''Northstar Compass'', was published from 1992 until 2017. Lucas is also the founder and leader of the International Council for Friendship and Solidarity with the Soviet People, which is intended to be a successor organization to the International Association of Friends of the Soviet Union.

Mexico

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, the association ''Amigos de la Union Sovietica combatiente'' was founded in 1942.

Norway

''Sovjet-Unionens venner'', the FSU branch in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, was founded in 1928. Adam Egede-Nissen was chairman of the organization 1933-1935. Later

Nordahl Grieg Johan Nordahl Brun Grieg (1 November 1902 – 2 December 1943) was a Norwegian poet, novelist, dramatist, journalist and activism, political activist. He was a popular author and a controversial public figure. He served in World War II as a war c ...

became the chairman of the organization. The organization was banned under the German occupation, along with the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

, on August 16, 1940.

Romania

An organization following the international model was set up in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

by the Romanian Communist Party activist Petre Constantinescu-Iaşi in the spring of 1934, at a time of relative ''

détente Détente (, French: "relaxation") is the relaxation of strained relations, especially political ones, through verbal communication. The term, in diplomacy, originates from around 1912, when France and Germany tried unsuccessfully to reduce ...

'' between the Soviet and Romanian governments (''see

Greater Romania The term Greater Romania ( ro, România Mare) usually refers to the borders of the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period, achieved after the Great Union. It also refers to a pan-nationalist idea. As a concept, its main goal is the creation ...

'').

Adrian Cioroianu Adrian Mihai Cioroianu (born January 5, 1967, Craiova, Romania) is a Romanian historian, politician, journalist, and essayist. A lecturer for the History Department at the University of Bucharest, he is the author of several books dealing with R ...

, ''Pe umerii lui Marx. O introducere în istoria comunismului românesc'',

Editura Curtea Veche Editura Curtea Veche (Curtea Veche Publishing House) is a Romanian publishing house with a tradition in editing works of Romanian literature. After the Romanian Revolution of 1989, Curtea Veche started editing more foreign books, such as BBC #REDIR ...

, Bucharest, 2005, p. 107–148, 218–219 Centered in Chişinău and later in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

, it reunited a sizable panel of communist and non-committed intellectuals, and favored Soviet-Romanian cultural ventures, raising controversy after a delegation led by Alexandru Sahia illegally crossed into Soviet territory to attend the anniversary of the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...

. It was ultimately outlawed in November of the same year by the Gheorghe Tătărescu cabinet, and was succeeded by the Society for Maintaining Cultural Links between Romania and the Soviet Union, created in May 1935 and itself outlawed in 1938. Various attempts to build on the ''Amicii URSS'' legacy during

remained unsuccessful, but after the start of

Soviet occupation During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into two different ...

, in November 1944, the Romanian Society for Friendship with the Soviet Union (ARLUS) was founded. It survived as an officially-endorsed cultural institution during the early stages of the

Communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

, but was disbanded in 1964, when the Romanian Communist leader

Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej (; 8 November 1901 – 19 March 1965) was a Romanian communist politician and electrician. He was the first Communist leader of Romania from 1947 to 1965, serving as first secretary of the Romanian Communist Party ...

announced a "national path to communism" and proceeded to distance himself from the Soviet Union.

South Africa

The FSU established a branch in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, to which non-communist were invited to join. In March 1934, the FSU took part in the formation of the League against Fascism and War along with the

, Labour Party members,

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

ists, etc. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

the FSU campaigned for support for the Soviet war effort. During the early 1940s, the FSU made significant inroads amongst the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n community.

Spain

Amigos de la Union Sovietica (AUS) was founded in 1925. The organization played an important role in the

antifascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

struggle during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

Sweden

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

FSU branch, ''Sovjet-Unionens vänner'', was founded in 1930. In 1935 a

Social Democrat Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soc ...

from

Mölndal Mölndal () is the seat and administrative centre of Mölndal Municipality, located just south of Gothenburg on the west-coast of Sweden. About 40,000 of the municipality's 60,000 inhabitants live in Mölndal proper. Geography Mölndal is locate ...

, Edvin Trettondal, became the chairman of the organization, which resulted in his expulsion from the Social Democratic Party. He later joined the

. By the late 1930s the organization disintegrated. A section of its members, including Trettondal, formed the association ''Sovjet-Nytt''.Mölndals stadsbibliotek - Mölndals tredje bibliotek

United Kingdom

The Friends of the Soviet Union was established in the United Kingdom in 1930 and was eventually succeeded by the British-Soviet Friendship Society.

United States

In the United States the

was formally established in August 1921 with Alfred Wagenknecht serving as the group's first Executive Secretary. With the establishment of the new international association the name of the organization was changed to the Friends of the Soviet Union. The organization published a monthly magazine entitled ''Soviet Russia Today.''